I'm so glad I found this Q&A on the Dogtime website. I actually started to write this post as a comment on the blog, but my comment turned into such a long diatribe, that I think I’ll turn it into an actual post.
I appreciate the frustration felt by A.C.C.U.S.E.D. I still get upset when I think back to an accusing question thrown at me on a trail more than a year ago. I lived in an area where dogs were welcomed off-leash on almost any trail. For reasons I'll explain below, my dog was leashed. A woman stopped me on the trail and told me that leashing my dog was a passive-aggressive way to control him. I let her rant about the fact that he needs more exercise than what a leashed walk could give him and that I should really find a trainer who could help me learn to use voice control rather than such a cruel form of restraint. I never told her that when I adopted Freckles from a shelter, he was so scared of people that he hid behind furniture; that he's so scared of being hit, he'll leave the room if you even raise your voice; loud noises send him running blindly in the opposite direction out of fear and anxiety.
I adopted Freckles knowing that we had a lot to work through. He no longer cowers when he meets strangers. He barks now (it took him two months to bark for the first time), and he is sometimes (not often) allowed off-leash. These are the accomplishments that I’m proud of, but I still feel a little guilty when I think about the lady who stopped me on that trail. I don’t know why. I knew that having him on-leash was safer for him and other dogs given his mental and emotional state at the time. It’s not like I could “just get a trainer”, because Freckles wouldn’t even come close to strangers at that point. He certainly wouldn’t have taken cues from them. Besides, he loves hearing the clink of his collar against the leash. You should see him race to the door to make sure he’s coming along :)
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